Kiss Communicator June 19, 2008

The Kiss Communicator is a a concept prototype that allows you to blow a kiss to your beloved when s/he’s at another part of the world.

To let a partner know that you are thinking of him/her, you squeeze the communicator gently. It responds with a slight glow to invite you to blow into it and create your “message” in the form of an animated light sequence as the device responds to your breath. The “message” shows while you blow and if you are happy with it, you simply relax your grip and it is sent to the corresponding Communicator.

Sensors in the handheld device pick up your kiss, translate the impulse into a series of randomly lit LEDs, which are then transmitted as a slow glow to your partner’s device. On the other end, the Kiss Communicator indicates that there is a message but waits until its owner squeezes it to play back the light sequence.

This concept is similar to one that I embedded in my thesis project BuddyWall, where a rubbing gesture was translated into light to let a remote loved one know that you were thinking of him/her. I really enjoy exploring how can we have a sense of remote presence and non-verbally communicate emotion.